Bonnie Stern: Al fresco for a cause

Nancy Steinhauer, the award-winning principal of George Webster School, is dedicated to improving the lives of her students and the community as a whole.

She was recognized last year as one of Canada’s top principals and made news when she started a pediatric clinic to provide medical and psychiatric services to those who did not have easy access to medical care. I was lucky enough to be involved in the latest event to fund the school’s new hockey team — a way Nancy thought would best introduce children and their families who were new to Canada to our culture.

Paula Hardisty, at whose home the event took place, explained it to me like this: “I make lunch for 80 people, we hold a raffle, you do a demo, everyone has a good time and it’s a great success.” That was an understatement. What a lunch! And how beautifully co-organizers Tiffaney Klein and Estelle Steinhauer arranged everything. Even the kids helped: Georgia, Emmie, Charlie and Max were very professional servers, greeters and raffle ticket sellers.

As you’ll see, Paula’s lunch was a perfect alfresco menu.

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MIXED TOMATO SALAD WITH BASIL OILUse tomatoes in different shapes, sizes and colours. Add roasted red and yellow peppers if you wish.

– 6 slices sourdough bread, diced
– 1 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
– kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
– 4 cups cherry tomatoes
– 2 lbs heirloom tomatoes
– 1 large bunch fresh basil, leaves only
– pinch of sugar1. Toss bread cubes with 2 tbsp olive oil and ½ tsp salt and a pinch of pepper. Spread on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 400F oven 8 to 10 minutes until golden.2. Halve cherry tomatoes and cut larger tomatoes into wedges. Leave half fresh and toss the others with 2 tbsp olive oil and some salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast in a 400F oven 20 to 30 minutes.3. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Have a large bowl of ice water ready. Add basil to boiling water, count to 5 and transfer to ice water. Pat basil dry with paper towels and place in food processor. Add ¼ tsp salt and process until finely chopped. Add
remaining olive oil and process 1 minute until smooth. (It will keep in a covered jar in the refrigerator for several days.)4. Toss all the tomatoes with basil oil and season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Just before serving place croutons on a platter and spoon tomatoes on top or sprinkle croutons over tomatoes. Makes 8 servings